Page 131 of The Fates We Tame

“Shit. Yeah. Got caught up making plans. They can wait if you want.”

Sophia looks at me, a smear of cream cheese icing on her lip. I rub it off with the pad of my thumb, then press it into her mouth. Her tongue swirls around it, and now I’m sitting here with the fixings of a boner.

“What were the plans?”

I managed to get ahold of Bruiser, a club hangaround who runs a bike shop fifteen minutes away. “Step one, getting you your own leathers and boots. Step two, checking in on Vex that he got your smashed phone. Step three, riding south down the shore for as long as we feel like going. Step four, picnic if it’s dry, lunch somewhere if it’s not. Step five, stop at a sex shop I know on the way home so we can start working our way through our list of things to try when we get home. Step six, dinner before I have to go out tonight. But we can do it another day.”

Sophia takes another bite of her cinnamon roll, then shakes her head. “If we can condense things a little, I can look at them this afternoon.”

“Fucking perfect.”

Step one goes smoothly, and while I thought Sophia looked good in Catalina’s leathers…she looks even better in her own.And she has fun picking out the boots and the helmet. She settles on a black one with silver lines on it.

“How do I look?” she asks.

“Utterly fuckable,” I answer honestly.

Bruiser laughs as Sophia blushes.

We then go home and pick up the bike. I connect our helmets so we can talk to each other.

“You sure you feel up to this?” Sophia asks as I climb on and lean the bike toward her.

“Seeing Raheel and Lori really helped. And I don’t have any sign of a headache. If I do, I promise I’ll pull over and call for one of the guys to come bring us home. Put your hand on my shoulder and let me take as much weight as you need to.”

I’ve backed the bike up to the step from the driveway to the path to the front door. Figured it would be easier for her to maneuver herself onto the bike with the extra height.

It takes us a minute. I lower the angle of the bike, putting my foot on the step and taking the weight of the bike in my arms. It helps Sophia get her leg over the seat. And finally, we’re good to go.

“Ready?” I ask, pulling in the clutch before revving the engine.

Sophia laughs and we get underway.

God, it feels good to be out. Saint’s idea was perfect. I take the long way to the clubhouse, but it’s still not long enough. There are bikes parked outside, and I pull up next to Vex’s.

The clubhouse stinks when I open the door. Bikers lay strewn on sofas; girls lie on bikers. And I remember a night…the chapter from Bethlehem was with us. I slept with Penny. Ended up hungover for two days after.

Penny.

Fuck.

She had a sweet side but wasn’t always a kind person. The sex was on fire, but I didn’t love her.

I haven’t seen her since I came back, and that’s probably for the best. Not because Sophia should feel threatened, but because I suddenly remember her being cruel to Vi. I’m glad she isn’t around to put Sophia through that.

Sophia’s hand slides up my arm. “You okay?” she asks me quietly.

“Yeah. Just thinking I actually don’t miss this. Well, the drinking and telling stories and hanging out with brothers part? Maybe. But the women and sleeping on sofas got old. And now I have you at home. Yeah. Think I’ll always prefer to be back with you when I can be.”

“That’s actually really sweet.”

We make our way into the kitchen, and I knock on Vex’s office door. “What’s up, brother?” I say when I find him with his head down behind his monitors.

When he looks up at me, I can see the concern in his face immediately. “Was just about to call you.”

He hands Sophia a brand-new phone. “Don’t ask me how I was able to do this. It took all night.”

Sophia takes it from him. “But I don’t need a new phone.”